Benenden - is it worth it?

Catcherupper14

I have been paying into Benenden for many years and have never had occasion to use their services.


Are there any others out there who have considered whether to keep it up?


What conclusion did you come to? I believe I pay £8.19 a month. I have no specific health issues at present but will be 60 in a very few years.

InsideInsurance

Catcherupper14 wrote: »

What conclusion did you come to? I believe I pay £8.19 a month. I have no specific health issues at present but will be 60 in a very few years.

I pay a hell of a lot more than £8.19 a month for PMI and hope that I will never use it but want the safety net that it creates.

The concern with Benenden is that it isnt actually PMI and is simply a discretionary fund that may be used for treatment but also potentially other palliative care. There are a few things that they simply wont cover as per https://www.benenden.co.uk/health/cover/healthcare/what-we-do-not-cover/ such as heart, arterial and orthopaedic surgery or cancer treatment. Everything else they will consider but its their choice if they pay out or not and prioritise base on NHS waiting lists, impacts on your sleep/ work/ quality of life (as per https://www.benenden.co.uk/health/cover/healthcare/why-we-are-different/)

Unfortunately you are really going to have to ask actual members of what percentage of requests for assistance are actually met and how many were met with actual cost of treatment being covered and how much was the softer elements (eg their FAQ on cancer says they wont assist with treatment but may pay for extra heating in your home or travel costs etc)

Personally, Id rather pay more and know what cover I have but then I get no sick pay beyond SSP and so want to be back on my feet ASAP hence having full fat PMI

joedenise

I have been with Beneden for about 25 years and been paying monthly for both myself and my DH.

I have had to use it a few times and certainly think it is worth paying for the peace of mind of being able to go private if the NHS wait is too long. Each time I have needed to use Beneden there has been no problem getting the authorisation and the payment is reimbursed within a few days of sending in the invoice.

The biggest problem is the fact that you have to pay upfront and claim the money back. I always use a credit card and usually have the money back in the bank before the credit card needs to be paid.

I would also add that as you get older things begin to wear out and you are more likely to need Beneden now and in the future than you would have done in the past.

I would definitely say it is worth keeping.

Denise